My drags are really getting there, but the inside of my right boot is getting really scuffed, on the widest part of the boot. I used to wear boot covers, but I lost them (I need a new pair actually...), and they never really stopped the scuffing. Now you can see the greyish bit under the white, and I'm worried about getting water in them. Is there anything I can do? Something I can put on them?

There's nothing to say you can only wear one pair of bootcovers at a time! Somehow two layers seems to protect the boots so much more than one does! I'm afraid I haven't got any suggestions for what you can put on the boot though.

You can get special tape to cover up scratches on skates, but I've never been overly convinced by it, and I'm not sure whether it is supposed to actually protect the skate or just make it look nicer anyway. Hopefully someone on here knows more about it than me!

Look into Sk8Tape, which is the tape mentioned above. It not only helps the boot look cleaner and "nicer," but it also protects it from further damage. When applied correctly, the tape mimicks the look of brand-new leather (from a distance, at least) and does not cause much any damage when removing it aside from just that leftover stickyness caused by the adhesive.

The only downfall that I see with this tape is that if you're planning on covering the entire skate, it can be time consuming since you need to smooth the wrinkles out of the tape as you apply it. Before I got my beige skates, we used to tape our entire boots (tongue included) for synchro competitions, and I think it took me roughly an hour and half to do both skates. And then there's always touch-ups for tape that gets crinkled and torn, but that can be replaced simply by cutting a smaller piece and replacing the yucky tape with that piece. Thankfully, the company offers pretty detailed instructions for how to apply the tape correctly: http://www.rainbosports.com/policies/skatetape.cfm

The tape comes in various sizes (3/4", 1.5", etc.) and colors (white, black, beige, red, green, blue, pink, etc.) and can be purchased at your local skate/pro shop or by visiting: http://www.rainbosports.com/shop/sit...91F21F288E95F2

As for water getting in your boots, I've never had this happen nor have I heard of it happening to others. I'd guess you'd have to have some pretty nasty damage to the boot in order for this to happen. Still, I wouldn't want to ruin what we all know can be expensive boots, so I'd look into the tape, boot covers, or over the boot (OTB) tights.

Definitely put a few layers of skate tape over it. Leather gets scraped off from the sole of my boot in the exact same place and skate tape does a great job of protecting it. I've had the same skate tape over that spot for about 6 months. Just last night I taped my new boot, since I could already see it being scraped down after just one or two Ina Bauers.

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics